Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I've known since I was a kid that I'm allergic to several kinds of pollen, but never noticed any food allergies. Occasionally when I ate apples from other countries my mouth would itch a little, but I thought that's probably some unfamiliar pesticide or something (being raised in the belief that Swedish agriculture is superior to any other...). When I started trying plant milks, I thought I got some itching when I drank soy milk. Went and had an allergy test, and the results were not what I expected:

- I'm still allergic to birch, grass and mugwort. Well, this was expected.

- I'm not allergic to soy, but it's linked to birch, so I'm not just imagining the reaction either. It's unlikely to be dangerous like a true food allergy.

- I am allergic to apples and almonds!

The doctor I saw was a GP and didn't really have any info for me on what to do now. So of course I have to ask the PPK: should I quit eating apples even though I don't react to them? Almonds - same question? Should I avoid soy even if it doesn't make me itchy? (I've never noticed a reaction to soy patties for instance.) Will eating the stuff make me more allergic? I know most of you aren't doctors, and if you are you can't really advise me like this, but I would still like some input. Please?

I have weird allergies too - mostly foods linked to latex but not all of them and not all the time. All I can advise is to stop consuming things that make you feel bad. If apples and almonds don't promote any reactions you should be ok to eat them.

Sounds like oral-allergy syndrome!

At least with raw things it occurs. You can possibly eat apples, etc cooked with no problem.

And its worst when the pollen is out there causing problems! Out of season its probably better.

Yeah, I have this, too. I can't eat raw pecans, raw walnuts, raw peppers, raw green beans and a few other things. cooked is totally fine.

Exactly! I've reacted to raw almonds occasionally, but I eat roasted ones nearly every day without problems. I'm off to google oral-allergy syndrome now.

From wikipedia:

"Oral reactions to food are often mistakenly self-diagnosed by patients as caused by pesticides or other contaminants."

From me:

"my mouth would itch a little, but I thought that's probably some unfamiliar pesticide or something"

LOL

Apple allergies can manifest in many ways. For me, I will sneeze like crazy the day after I eat an apple or have an almond or two. Even knowing I was allergic to both of those (and 1000 other foods), it took me decades to make the connection that my seasonal allergies were heavily exacerbated by the foods I ate the day before.

I can't eat basil raw.
I am depressed.

(or kale. I think I actually have a super duper ragweed allergy but I have just started noticing because life after teenagerhood is that which reminds one of mortality over and over, day in, day out.)